In Memoriam -- Nanette Fabray (1920-2018)

The sitcom world has lost one of its stellar powers, as One Day at a Time's Nanette Fabray has passed away at the age of 97 on February 22. Fabray starred on CBS' longstanding sitcom as Katherine Romano from 1979-84, incidentally alongside her real-life niece Shelly Fabares starred as (non-related) Francine Webster during that same time. Born on October 27, 1920, Fabray polished onto the silver screen in 1939's The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.

During the rising trend of television programming in the 1950's, Fabray enjoyed a career renaissance after a 1953 appearance in Omnibus. The actress enjoyed several appearances in the anthology style playhouse theaters before making several guest appearances in television shows and movies. After the playhouse anthology trend was briefly revived in the early 1970's by CBS' sitcom series Love, American Style, Fabray made several appearances before landing on One Day at a Time. Initially a guest appearance, Fabray's performance was so well received that showrunners killed off the character's on-screen husband to enable more appearances and stories for Katherine Romano.

One Day at a Time made a plethora of casting changes throughout its run, swinging the pendulum in Fabray's favor in 1982 as she was bumped to contract player for the last two seasons. Following ODAAT's ending after 9 seasons, Fabray slowed down her career. Her last role reunited her with niece Shelly Fabares again as she appeared on Coach as Mildred Armstrong, the mother of Fabares' character Christine. Fabray is survived by a son and was predeceased in death by her second husband in 1973.